SYDNEY - Thieves used a stolen car to smash their way into a designer boutique in the latest raid on Sydney's exclusive shopping strip.
Three men reversed a gold-coloured Honda Civic sedan through the metal-reinforced glass doors of the Gucci boutique on Castlereagh Street about 2.30am (4.30am NZT)today.
The bandits, who have been captured on security footage, spent up to 10 minutes collecting designer handbags, clothing, jewellery and footwear worth tens of thousands of dollars before fleeing in a second vehicle.
The raid came just days after two men used a sledgehammer to smash their way into the nearby David Jones city store, on the corner of Castlereagh and Market streets, and raided display cases for luxury watches.
It also follows a recent raid by five men wielding sledgehammers on the Louis Vuitton boutique, less than 100 metres from Gucci, in which handbags and jewellery were stolen.
The exclusive strip also houses Chanel, Bvlgari, and Tiffany & Co.
Police Inspector Greg Rosman said forensic evidence was being recovered from the stolen car, which was left lodged in the front door of the Gucci boutique with its engine running.
It was unusual for a ram-raid vehicle to be left at the crime scene and it was possible the car had become stuck when it was rammed through a metal grille, he said.
The car, first reported stolen in January from Hunters Hill in Sydney, might have been used in other crimes and would probably contain clues to the criminals, he added.
Rosman said it was possible the thieves had worked out from a pre-robbery reconnaissance that the Honda Civic was small enough to fit through traffic bollards on the pavement outside the store.
He said luxury stores were a desirable target for thieves and police were looking at links between the Louis Vuitton and Gucci robberies.
The David Jones robbery was a separate investigation, he said.
"I wouldn't say it's an organised gang, but I can tell you that it was a stolen motor vehicle used, which shows ... they knew what they were doing," Rosman told reporters.
